Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 222 Remington loads??

what do ya like in your 222?? I have played with the 55 gr. Baliistic Tips and 53 gr. Matchkings with good results, but wondered how the lighter bullets might perform??

I'm shootin 23.0 gr. of IMR4895 with the 55's

Disregard my previous posting on the 222 load apparently I must have developed a sudden case of dyslexia and somehow read it as asking for 223 data, I inadvertently listed my 223 load which was obviously too much for a 222.


My 222 load is 22 grains of Reloader 7 and a 40 grain Nosler ballistic tip, super accurate out of my Cooper sporter. It finally warmed up a bit this afternoon and I shot for a bit, 5 shots were in the mid .3's, and this load does a great job on gophers and PD's.

drover

I have had excellent results in two different 222's with Benchmark powder and 40 grain ballistic tips. More moderate loads in the 3300 to 3500 fps ranges gave me best accuracy of under half inch at 100 yards and under 1 inch at 200 yards. Tend to limit the range to that in these guns and haven't tested farther.

Mine REALLY likes the 40 gr V-Max and 19 grains of IMR 4198. Velocity at 3200 and change. The 40 gr Blitzking and Ballistic Tips also shoot very well using 4198, but for some reason the V-Max works best. mtmuley

I really like 24 grs. of RL-10x, the 40 BlitzKing with Fed caps and Lapua brass.

20 grs of RL-7 and the 40 gr V-Max shoots well too; hell, just about any recommended powder will run well with forties in the Deuce.

50gr sierra blitzkings with 21gr H322. 12 twist

Thanks guys!! Just wanted some opinions before I ordered some 40's.

40gr. vmax and h335 is a good combination !

Ed

Have had the best luck with VVN130, 40gr BlitzKing,Lapua brass and Rem71/2 BR primer

Mine really likes 53 gr SMK's, but maybe I'll try the lighter stuff some day after reading this.

Try this site for some great loads reported by many shooters. As always check against a reloading manual.

http://www.centerfirecentral.com/viewer.html


Good luck!

I concentrate on 45 grain to 52 grain bullets for my 222's. Here are some targets I shot with a couple of different 222's. Both rifles are standard Rem 722's, with no tweaking save for trigger adjustment to 2 1/2 pound pulls.













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Bonz: I have 6 Varmint Rifles in caliber 222 Remington these days.
I love this caliber.
Two of these Varminters use the wonderful 52 grain Berger MEF's (I refuse to use the wonderfully accurate 52 grain MatchKings as they are hard as nails and VERY prone to ricochet!).
Two of these Varminters use Nosler 40 grain Ballistic Tips.
And two of these Varminters use Sierras wonderful 50 grain Blitz bullets!
H 322 and IMR 4198 powders are my Rifles favorites.
Best of luck with your 222!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

thank you all for the responses!! I'm shootin a Remington 722 and have very good results with the 55 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. I do however want t try the 40 gr. Ballistic Tips and see if they shoot anywhere near as good.

My Sako L461 likes H322 with the 40 BT, loaded a touch hot, a half grain over book max.

40 BT
24.5 gr H322*
Norma brass
Federal 205M primer

*Nosler #5 lists 24.0 grains as maximum.

Chronos @ 3560 fps from a 24" barrel. Shoot itty-bitty groups if I haven't hit the coffee too hard that morning.

21.0 grains of IMR4198 with Barnes 36 gr. work very good in my old 788 Remington. Haven't checked the speed but they sure do shoot and are bad news for PDs.

You're shootin a 5-shot group like that, WHY MESS WITH IT!??


But, seriously I understand simply wanting to try different stuff. Have fun!

One thing to note is for reasons unknown, many manuals list max pressure loads below 50k CUP. SAAMI specs I guess, but not sure why since the 222 was introduced by Remington in a strong bolt gun.
Could be a reason the 221 Fireball often has loads surpassing the 222, at least in the lighter bullets.
Speed isn't the do-all, but it's nice to know if accuracy looks promising at "book" max loads, you can likely go beyond those safely.

Greg

Shot the 40 grain Ballistic TIps today. Shot just as good if not better than the 55's. Seated these ones .005 off the lands and went to a Rem. 7 1/2 primer. I think I found my varmint load!!!

Bonz: Great news on the 40 grainers working so well for you!
Is that 722 for sale by any chance?
I have a DANDY little 722 in 222 Remington that has a Lyman 10 power scope on it.
My best group (5 shots at 100 yards) to date with it measures .626".
I am using 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips in it also.
I am using H 322 powder and Federal 205 M (match) primers.
My Rifle is rather consistently shooting in the 7's set up the way it is.
I have only had this Rifle for a year now and probably should do some more load development with it.
This is a cool set-up for Jack Rabbit Hunting though!
What power is your Leupold scope on that 722?
Let me know if its for sale.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy